The Ultimate Thailand Travel Guide

Fancy a trip to Thailand? Don’t worry, we got you covered. Thailand is a beautiful destination for bag-packers, people who like to spend their vacation on white beaches and/or party people. The country has everything, including excellent food at cheap prices!

We assume you would start your trip in Bangkok, as you’ll probably arrive by plane. If you arrive on Friday and the weekend will start, stay a few days in the capital. If not, plan your stay in Bangkok at the end of your holiday. Bangkok offers so many attractions such as floating markets (Taling Chan is a great one), the Grand Palaceand many other temples, such as the What Pho. The Grand Palace is a bit expensive to visit (around 15 EUR), but is totally worth it. Next to this, you can find huge shopping malls – but I hope this is not the reason you’re visiting Thailand – and a great nightlife on Silam Road or Khao San Road. Not into partying? Spend your evening strolling around one of the many cosy ‘night-bazaars’.

From Bangkok, it’s possible to do a day-trip to Ayatthuya, the former capital of Thailand. A trainticket will cost you less than 1 EUR. Go early, as there is a lot to see. When you arrive at the train station in Ayatthuya, don’t take a tuktuk. Just walk straight to the water. Take the ferry for 10 bath and rent a bike to explore the area! It’s great!

From Bangkok it’s easy to go North or South. As South is the ideal place to relax and enjoy the beaches, we would recommend to go up North first. The places to visit are Chiang Rai, Pai and Chiang Mai. You’ll probably arrive in the latter, as this is the largest city in this part of the country. An easy way to get there is by plane or nighttrain. Around Chiang Mai, there are many elephant sanctuaries which are worth a visit. Chiang Rai is known from the extraordinary white temple – search on Instagram and you’ll know immediately what we mean – but has some stunning nature as well. Pai is a more laid-back, chill-kinda town with a lot of bag-packers but still gives you the Thailand experience.

The best way to go to the Southern part of Thailand is by plane. Fly to Surat Thani and take a bus and ferry ticket to Koh Phangan, Koh Samui of Koh Tao. Both islands are beautiful locations, however Koh Phangang is more for young adults as the Full Moon parties take place there. Koh Nang Yuan is a small island next to Koh Tao. You can visit the island during 1 day, by taking a taxi boat for 400 Bath (two-way). The view at the highest point of the island is extraordinary, however it’s really crowded by Chinese.

Depening on your time-schedule, it’s possible to visit Phuket and/or Krabi. We only went to Phuket, as we did not had enough time for Krabi unfortunately. Phuket is a large city, but offering not so much activities. You can make a day-trip to the Phi PhiIslands, but this isn’t worth the money. It will cost you around 50 EUR for a two-way trip, and you’ll only be at Phi Phi for a few hours. One of the most beautiful beaches – Maya Beach – will be closed this Summer due to all the waste pollution of tourists. However, if you love pool parties and getting that American vibe – there is even a McDonalds – Koh Phi Phi is a must do. A second option is you love party is visiting Patong Beach in Phuket.

We did all of this in 2 weeks, but we needed to rush and planned everything very well. We would recommend you to visit Thailand for 3 weeks, as this will give you more opportunities to stay at one place for more days and relax a bit. Oh, and if you’re planning your visit for next year: don’t go during April, as this is the hottest period of the year. Thank us later ;)!